SHE SELLS MEN’S HATS

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31238, 9 December 1966, Page 2

SHE SELLS MEN’S HATS

Women today are invading previously allmale provinces at a surprising rate. A Christchurch woman in a department store sells men’s hats.

Mrs Nancy Cuddy transferred her selling talents from feet to heads two years ago when she moved from the women’s shoewear section of Beath and Company to men’s wear department. There, surrounded by hats with wide brims, narrow brims; hats of straw and of tweed; stetsons and bowlers, she gives advice to male customers of all ages. “Men come here for a purpose—they want to buy, not just to look. They are much easier to serve than women,” said Mrs Cuddy yesterday. Purposeful as they are, male clients take care over their purchase, and are usually willing to listen to Mrs Cuddy’s opinion. This she offers freely. “I never let a man go out of the shop in a hat that doesn’t suit him,” she said. “But you can’t talk them into one they don’t like.” Although men over 50 yeans prefer the wide-brimmed style they have worn for years, the “middle-aged mod.” has now accepted the narrow brims which measure little more than an inch. “Young men are becoming much more hat conscious," Mrs Cuddy said. For most, buying a hat is a new experience. Young men know the style and usually the colour they want, hut not

their size. Mrs Cuddy soon solves that problem by trying on a few likely looking models. She misses few sales, but finds wives often more of a hinderance than a help. They often object to her choice, particularly if the style is new. “I really enjoy my work, I wouldn’t change to another department now,” she said. Mrs Cuddy does not know of another woman serving in

the men’s hat section of a department store in New Zealand, although there are many family businesses in which wives or daughters “lend a hand.” During a recent world tour a Wellington hat manufacturer found Mrs Cuddy’s counterpart in only one country—Western Germany. The picture shows Mrs Cuddy trying a modern style model on a young customer.